


Return Flight

by Melonbird



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Scars, gay as heck, hurt comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-08 02:49:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12245589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melonbird/pseuds/Melonbird
Summary: Just a little fucker inspired by a picture I came across. Keith dealing with how much Shiro has changed since he's been gone.





	Return Flight

“Here,” Keith called, entering the backroom.

He approached Shiro, who was sitting on the couch, in those tattered looking clothes he had got from… somewhere.

The others were still in the front room, and although the walls of Keith’s shack were thin and flimsy, it seemed quiet back here. Like Keith and Shiro were the only people for miles.

God, Shiro had changed so much. He looked so different. Older. And yet, the familiarity, the relief he was alive and not gone forever… well. Keith was still processing it. But at the same time it was like he never left.

He held out a bundle of folded clothes for Shiro that he had picked out, and Shiro took them gratefully.

“I'll be glad to get out of this,” Shiro said with an easy smile, trying to stay lighthearted, his shoulders tense. He must have gone through so much. Was it strange to be back here? Did it feel like a lifetime ago?

Keith shrugged, suddenly feeling a bit shy. Though apparently, Shiro didn't feel like it had been that long and wasn't feeling shy at all, because he wordlessly slid his shirt over his head. It was nice he was still comfortable around Keith.

Keith watched with mild interest, stomach twisting at the intimate gesture of changing in front of another person and the fact that Shiro was still very handsome, and then, when Shiro dropped the shirt to the ground, his heart turned to ice.

Scars. Scars everywhere. Covering Shiro’s chest and back. Some of them were obviously stab wounds and other battle scars. Those were on the front and there weren't nearly as many. But every single scar on his back… they weren't made by any blade.

They were from a whip.

Keith swallowed the lump in his throat, eyes shifting down. He felt weak and like a coward for not being able to stomach looking at them. But it hurt to imagine Shiro on his knees, bring tormented by his captors. Bled by whips. Sweating and shaking with pain. Vulnerable, helpless, suffering. And Keith unable to save him or protect him. Shiro, the pristine, youthful prodigy, the best and brightest, fair and handsome. He was bigger, but he was also tired looking. Skin marred with scars. Hair grayed from what Keith could assume was trauma or stress. And Shiro wasn't old. He was a young man barely out of his teens. But now he looked from some angles like he was forty.

He watched as Shiro pulled on the new clothes, fitting one of the sleeves at the elbow to accommodate his new bionic arm.   
He should do something. Say something. But he couldn't think of what to do or say. He'd gone feral out here in the desert, and he didn't know if Shiro was traumatized and even wanted to be touched.

Shiro smiled again. It seemed a little forced. “Its okay Keith,” he said kindly. “Things will go back to normal before you know it.”

Keith didn't know if anything would be normal again. He watched Shiro stand, and stride out of the back door.

He should have said something instead of standing there like an idiot. He swallowed, watching Shiro walk out onto the plateau. Alone.

How alone had Shiro felt out there? Going through all that pain? Had he called out for help? Had he missed Keith?

A guilty weight churned in his stomach. He was being selfish. Of course Shiro had missed him. He probably missed a lot of things. And Keith was in here sulking about stupid bullshit.

He followed Shiro out of the door, and looked at him at a distance for a while. His white hair billowing in the gentle breeze looked almost translucent as it caught the colours of the rising sun. And Shiro still was very handsome. It was calming and reassuring just to look at him. He watched as his shoulders went slack. Shiro was probably doing a breathing exercise. Keith smiled to himself, and approached his friend, and finally, reached out to touch his shoulder. He was pleased when Shiro didn't jump or flinch. He merely turned his head, to meet Keith’s gaze. His eyes were warm. They hadn't changed at all.

“It's good to have you back,” he said quietly to Shiro. He had so many other things to say. Swirling around in his mind. Things he wished over and over again he hadn't left unsaid. But suddenly none of that mattered. Because Shiro knew exactly what Keith meant by those words. And all of the things unsaid, they were perfectly understood. Keith managed his first genuine smile in over a year before responding.

“It's good to be back.”


End file.
